If you travel to a country within the European Union, you can bring tobacco back to France.

These are the subsequent countries : Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.

Terms and Conditions

You must meet the following conditions:

• Being of age (having 18 years minimum)
• Respect the criteria proving that your tobacco purchases match your own personal consumption.

The transport of tobacco is carried out by your own means and in your presence (no delegation to another person or by a means of transport carried out without your physical presence).

Conditions defining personal and non-commercial use

Of criteria are defined to judge whether you are returning tobacco from an EU countryEU: titleContent for your own use (personal consumption) and not for commercial use (resale).

L'set of criteria is taken into consideration by customs officers.

These criteria are the following :

• Your economic activity and your commercial status
• The reasons why you own these products
• The location of the products or, in the case of transport, their location in the vehicle
• The mode of transport used
• Any documents related to these products
• The nature of the products
• The quantity of products
• The way products are packaged
• The existence on the products or their packaging of a sign designating, even implicitly, a consignee other than yourself
• Any trace of an exchange relating to these products and involving you
• Your place of destination when it differs from your usual place of residence

Focus on the criterion of maximum quantities in the EU

Infographie - Maximum quantities of tobacco allowed to be brought back from a European country

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The maximum quantities of tobacco that can be brought back from an EU country are as follows:

• 800 cigarettes (equivalent to 4 cartons)
• 400 cigarillos (maximum weight of 3 grams each)
• 200 cigars
• or 1 kilogram of smoking tobacco.

These quantities cannot be cumulated.

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Maximum quantities of tobacco allowed to be brought back from a European country

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The maximum quantities of tobacco that can be brought back from an EU country are as follows:

• 800 cigarettes (equivalent to 4 cartons)
• 400 cigarillos (maximum weight of 3 grams each)
• 200 cigars
• or 1 kilogram of smoking tobacco.

These quantities cannot be cumulated.

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The maximum quantities to be respected are as follows:

• 800 cigarettes (i.e. 4 cartridges)
• or 400 cigarillos (cigars weighing not more than 3 grams per piece)
• or 200 cigars
• or 1 kg of smoking tobacco.

These maximum amounts are one of the criteria among all the others. You can have a penalty even if you report single cartridge of cigarettes.

If, after assessing all the criteria, customs officers prove that you are bringing in tobacco for commercial purposes, you must pay the taxes during the inspection.

In this case, the check may also result in a fine and your tobacco may be confiscated.